HIGHTSTOWN — Charlie Card-Childers took over for the Lawrenceville School boys basketball team in the fourth quarter yesterday, yet no one really would have noticed from the box score.

Yet, the contributions of this 6-foot-6 junior forward were key to the top-seeded Big Red getting past fourth-seeded Blair Academy, 56-51, in the semifinals of the Mid-Atlantic Prep League Tournament, held at the Peddie School.

Card-Childers had all four of his points, five assists, three rebounds and a steal in the fourth quarter to keep the Bucs at bay, even though Blair closed to a basket three times in the final eight minutes.

Right after Blair Academy’s Jesse Pistokache completed a three-point play on which Lawrenceville senior swingman Lewis hayes had picked up his fourth foul, Card-Childers grabbed and offensive rebound and put the ball back to give the Big Red a 47-43 lead with 4:27 to go.

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Blair’s David George hit a foul-line jumper, but Card-Childers responded with a steal and an assist to Roy Brooks, whose layup gave the top seed a 49-45 edge.

“We were just trying to go in with a tough mentality,” Card-Childers said of the fourth-quarter mindset. “We wanted to get boards and mostly focus on defense. Roy was open on that play when they trapped on me, so I had to get it to him.”

That unselfish attitude was just what the doctor ordered as the Bucs surged in part by getting Hayes (12 points) and Mike Klotz (13 points) in foul trouble.

“In ways, Charlie has been an unsung hero for us,” Lawrenceville head coach Ron Kane said. “He impacts the game with his length and his athleticism. That showed in the fourth quarter today. He played very well. Mostly it was his defense. Their (3-point) shooter (Mike) Silverthorn did not get many uncontested looks all game,”

While Card-Childers did the so-called “dirty work,” postgraduate point guard Matt Johnson picked up the offensive slack, leading the club with 15 points (inlcuding three crucial free throws down the stretch) to offset the game-high 23 turned in by Blair Academy’s Marial Shayok. The one foul shot Johnson missed, Card-Childers tapped back to him.

“This is a big win for us,” Card-Childers said. “We lost to Blair the first time we played them in the regular season. It was a close game, too. So we came back and sort of redeemed ourselves going into tomorrow’s game.”

With the victory, the Big Red return to Peddie tonight for a 6 p.m. matchup with third-seeded Hun after the Raiders knocked off second-seeded host Peddie, 49-38.